Robert DeNiro's Goodfellas character Jimmy Conway is described as being someone who roots for the bad guys in movies. The men of Silkworm, I'm guessing, ignore both the good guys and the bad guys and instead root for the extras. And if you've ever watched a movie and concentrated on the potentially complex inner lives of the nameless inhabitants who mill about behind the central action, It'll Be Cool might become your soundtrack of choice.
Silkworm are like the character actors who deliver flawless supporting performances in film after film, the ones who everybody recognizes but whose faces you always have trouble placing and whose names you never remember. It'll Be Cool, produced with typical brawniness by Steve Albini, is the band's ninth album, and it's as sturdy, dependable, and wholly unconcerned with fashion as ever. But reliability only takes a band so far, and once again, Silkworm have crafted a splendid album that risks being forgotten as soon as the end credits roll.
Throughout It'll Be Cool, Silkworm are able to drudge up all the emotional drama they require for their miniature narratives by investigating what would usually be considered the margins of the action. Songs are set in places like hockey penalty boxes, funeral parlors, and sinking yachts. On "Insomnia", they sing about Julius Caesar but it's to discuss the emperor's sleeping disorder rather than any of his more glorious or photogenic exploits. "You are always looking past the facts/ You put your faith in the Christian undertaker/ Like he can repay your debts," bassist/vocalist Tim Midgett accuses on "Xian Undertaker", with audible disdain for those who wish to overlook the seemingly minor events that comprise the bulk of our lives.
This lyrical attention to quirky detail stands in marked contrast to the broad, blunt strokes of Silkworm's instrumental attack. More than ever before, they're musically centered on Midgett's burly, economic bass and the locomotive drumming of Michael Dahlquist. The near-motorik chug of opener "Don't Look Back" sounds as though it could have extended for miles in any direction had the band kept the tape running. (Although they would've benefited from repeating the song title about 25 fewer times.) Riff-centric tracks like "The Operative" and "Insomnia" make judicious use of Amphetamine Reptile's back catalog-- a satisfyingly untrendy decision. Elsewhere, they incorporate luxury items such as mandolins or Matt Kadane's keyboards into the blend, although on the electronically grating "Penalty Box" you'll likely wish they hadn't bothered.
Ultimately, It'll Be Cool succumbs to the general lack of ambition that has always been Silkworm's Achilles' heel. ("If sleeping were a battle we would meet for drills at 3:00 am," Midgett sings at one point.) Diehards may quietly argue about which of the band's many albums might eventually stand as their masterpiece, but it's tough to ignore the fact that since 1996's Firewater all of their movement has been lateral.
